Russian press review, 28.03.2007

The Russian press focuses on a report by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the country's international relations, features an interview with the U.S. Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns, and writes about prices for real estate.

A report by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the country's international relations is the focus of the Nezavisimaya newspaper. The daily analyses the main points of the document, including Russia's relations with the U.S and Europe, its dealings with international organizations, and also the country's views on global security. According to Nezavisimaya, a large part of the report criticizes the U.S. foreign policy, with Russia calling it “unipolar”. Looking at the deployment of the American troops in Iraq, the daily says the report questions the sensibility of having an international military in the region, concluding that Iraq would rather solve all its problems on its own.

And staying with the issue of Russia-U.S. relations, Novye Izvestiya features an interview with the U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Nicholas Burns. He says the most important thing in these relations is to keep them balanced. He argues against Russia's idea that Washington is trying to create a “unipolar world”, saying such a system has emerged simply for historical reasons. He also emphasises that America's main priorities in its foreign policy this year are improving relations with Russia – as well as stabilizing the situation in the Balkans.

Gazeta looks at the background of Russia's relations with Latvia. It speculates on what is behind the signing of the border treaty between the two countries that took place in Moscow on Tuesday. The daily says the fact, that the countries' officials agreed on the construction of storage for Russian gas in Latvia is a much more important event for Russia than signing the treaty. The newspaper says that this gas agreement, which will provide gas for Europe, is a good and promising start to cooperation between Latvia and Russia's Gazprom, especially regarding the construction of the North European pipeline.

And finally, Rossiyskaya Gazeta writes about prices for real estate in Moscow. According to the daily, they have not changed since last year after a dramatic 80% increase. This led to one square meter of property in the Russian capital costing over $US4,000. The newspaper says Moscow is the world's leader in terms of the amount of construction which goes on in the capital. It quotes Moscow's mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, as saying his main targets for the next five years are to build more properties, including more apartments, and also make housing more affordable for Muscovites.